Mountain Man's Bride

by Lauren Wood

  “Why the hell the flip all of a sudden?”

  “I don’t know Charlie. It just gets old after a while. I am not going to say that it isn’t nice for a while, but it gets to be more of a burden than anything else. Trust me, at the end of the day, a year from now, you will want to find a woman that does it for you all of the time. You were the one that was right.”

  “What the hell has gotten into you lately, Rex?”

  “Nothing, Charlie. I am just saying you are right. You are the one that has been uptight as hell for a while. Hopefully Desiree figured that out for you and you will learn to chill the fuck out.”

  “So who is it then?”

  “What do you mean?” He was confusing as hell and he had an accusation in his eyes.

  “What chick has you changing everything now and wanting to get serious with someone?”

  “There is no one.” What was he getting at?

  “Ruby doesn’t think so. She has been eying you down for days. I think she is the one that is getting serious.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck and tried my best not to have a guilty look on my face. “Yeah, Ruby became a problem all of a sudden. I thought everything was cool and casual and she went and took it to a whole other level. Now I can’t get her off of me and she is not happy that I am not in love with her. I really think she is going to become a pain in our asses.”

  “Well you need to handle it. She is starting to worry me and she is not our problem Rex. She is your problem.”

  “Why are you being so uptight about it? It isn’t the first time that a chick has gone a little crazy and fallen in love with one of us.”

  “I’m not being uptight, just real. Get a handle on her because she makes me nervous. We don’t need a harassment suit against us because you are calling her by another chick’s name.”

  I tried not to react, but I knew that he was still stewing over what she said to him earlier. He knew way more than he was supposed to and I was starting to think that I was going to have to come clean about more than just Ruby.

  “Who told you that?”

  “Who do you think? You really did piss Ruby off, didn’t you?”

  I nodded my head and got a solemn look on my face. “What else did she tell you?”

  He had that suspicious look back on his face and again I wished that I could say something to make it so. I hated this vibe between us more than anything else. This was getting old fast. Why couldn’t I just come out with it and finally be truthful about what was going on?

  Chapter 23

  Rex

  “What is your deal Ruby? You told me that you would keep what we had between us, between us and now I hear that you are talking to Charlie about what I called you?”

  She smiled at me and sat on the edge of the desk. “Look what I have to do to get you to see me. If you didn’t make it so hard to track you down Rex, I wouldn’t have to talk to Charlie and start a little chaos to get noticed.”

  “What did you tell him Ruby?”

  I was pissed and she was still trying to flirt and turn me on. When I got too close and she made a play for my dick, I sidestepped her.

  “I told you before that this is over between us.”

  “Then why am I here?”

  “I want to know what you told Charlie about us. He is asking all kinds of questions and I want to know why.

  “He must have said something important because it sounds like that is why you are mad. What are you keeping from him that could make you so nervous Rex?”

  “You are not going to turn this around on me. I want to know what happened and I want to know what the hell you said to him. Did you say her name?”

  That was all I was worried about in the end. If she wanted to give Charlie a blow by blow of everything that we had done, I didn’t care. What I cared about was if she had told Charlie that I made her let me call her Sherry while I was plowing her. That was the only thing that really mattered to me. He had been acting strange and that was certainly something that would make him act differently if he ever got a hint of what I felt for is sister, let alone what I had done to her.

  “No, I didn’t. I don’t know who she is, but I wish I had never heard her name before. Whoever she is, do you love her? Is that why you don’t want anything to do with me anymore? It is like you got the real thing and now I am nothing to you.”

  She was being dramatic and I could see the threat of tears in the near future. I hated to see a woman cry, but I was sure that her tears were more about getting to me and making me feel guilty more than anything else. It was hard not to feel bad for her. I had somehow made her have feelings for me and I had none for her. It wasn’t my intention, but to be fair, it never really was.

  “I wouldn’t say that you are nothing to me Ruby. I am just not ready for anything so intense right now. My head is all screwed up and the last thing I need is a relationship to make it worse. I thought what we had was fun Ruby. When did it turn so sour for you?”

  “When you started calling me Sherry and then kicked me to the curb right afterwards. Why don’t you want anyone to know what it is that you call me? I have been trying to figure it out, but I just don’t get it. Who is she that is so important that I keep this secret for you?”

  This was getting out of control and I looked back at the breaking of the most important rule of all. I wasn’t supposed to get involved with the girls. Was I going to have to get rid of Ruby to get any peace? It wouldn’t look good and she could get a lawyer if she so chose, but Charlie finding out about it seemed all that much worse. He was my best friend and he wasn’t going to understand what was going on with me and Sherry. He wasn’t going to get that his sister made me feel so differently about everything. I knew better than to say anything out loud to Ruby, but I had to say something or this was just going to escalate to a place that I couldn’t control it.

  “She was an old girlfriend that I had a long time ago. I don’t want people around here knowing about her.”

  “Oh really? I would have thought that it was because you are fucking your business partner’s sister. That’s the real reason, right?”

  I sighed and groaned inwardly. This was all going bad fast and I knew then that I didn’t have any other choice.

  “I don’t think that you are going to be a good fit here Ruby. I think you would be happier at another establishment. I will give you a week more at the apartment, but then you will have to move on. It is for the best.”

  She had this look on her face that I would ever forget. I didn’t like the idea of anyone hating me, but I really didn’t like the idea of it when it was someone that knew too much. I don’t know how she had put it together, but I wasn’t going to let her jealousy of a woman she never met make my friendship a bad one.

  “You’re firing me!?”

  She was shocked and I was too, but it was for the best. I wasn’t going to have little Ruby making a big deal out of this and I could tell that breaking up with her was most likely not the way to go about it. She was even more upset than before, but I was running out of ideas and options. At the end of the day, I just needed her out, now.

  “But I need this job Rex. I did everything that you wanted me to do.”

  “No, I asked you to keep your mouth shut and you didn’t. We can’t have loose lips at the club.”

  She wanted to debate it, but I made sure that I was clear. I wasn’t going to feel guilty about it, this is what I told myself, but that was not true. I felt horrible as she stormed off. She went to the dressing room and came back out a few minutes later with a bag full of costumes that I was pretty sure were not hers. I was going to chalk it up as a loss. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. I should have seen what this was going to be before it got this bad. I had no one to blame but myself at the moment.

  Chapter 24

  Sherry

  I was just about packed to move back up to Chicago and I had gotten Charlie to agree to come get me. I was hoping that it would be Rex sent in his stead again, bu
t it was Charlie that showed up, alone.

  Not hearing from Rex, I wondered what he was doing or if I was going to see him while I was in Chicago, but for now I was just going to have to hold my tongue. Charlie and I had a lot to talk about, especially now that he knows about me being at the club and what I had seen there.

  It didn’t take long at all for him to start in and I didn’t know what to say. “So how did you find out about the club Sherry?”

  “Dang you didn’t wait long. We aren’t even out of the city limits.”

  “I am just curious. I tried so hard to keep it a secret and you aren’t back a few days and already know. I just don’t get it, so help me out here.”

  I had known that we were going to have this discussion, but now I felt like it was just the start of something more.

  “Well it wasn’t too hard to figure out. You hired a girl like Candy and it is clear that she wasn’t going to be doing any kind of clerical work. I would bet that she can’t even make a full sentence properly. Then you had those little matchbooks all over the apartment. It just seemed like it all made sense, though I couldn’t have been sure until I went.”

  “So you went to the club?”

  I nodded my head and found that I couldn’t meet his gaze. I didn’t know what else to say, but I had gone to see for myself. It was just how I was. I wanted to make sure instead of assuming something.

  “Yeah.”

  “And?”

  “Well, it is not what I expected. I mean, I just never saw you as that guy.”

  He shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t understand. I mean, I can see it from your side. This is normal here though. These places are going to be here no matter what.”

  “So why not be the one making the money on it?”

  He shrugged and focused more on the road.

  “I get it. You were always a really nice guy and maybe you think that if you are a good boss, they will be taken care of better.”

  “Sort of like that.”

  “But you are making a boatload of money on it, so it isn’t like you are a charity bro. I am not going to judge you, but I just know that you could have done anything great if you would have put your mind to it. This is just the route you wanted to take.”

  “No judgment, huh?”

  “Sorry, I don’t know. That place, those people. I don’t know how you do it. I would never tell mom and dad. They would freak out.”

  And that was a major understatement. My mother would blame herself for raising such a devilish boy and he would have one hell of a time trying to convince her of anything. She would want him to talk to the preacher at our church. No, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I wouldn’t want him to have to go through that. The shaming would be great.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “So why?”

  “Because it was a good business to get into and it just seemed like the right time to do it. I don’t think I am a charity, but I treat the girls well and they have protection and make good money. I mean really good money.”

  “So is that why you wouldn’t give me a job there?”

  I giggled, but he told me that he would rather jab out his eyes. I didn’t know if I should laugh to that or not. He was always so funny and the more I thought about it, the more I could see his anxiety about it.

  “Well at least I know why you have been acting so weird. I won’t rat on you, I promise. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

  “It isn’t just that. I have to ask you something.”

  Oh no, here it comes. Here is the something else that I had felt from him and I was finally going to know what it was that he was here for. Charlie was a busy guy, really busy, so that meant he had come here to get me for one reason or another. Unless mom hounded him to do it, the reason was going to be hinged on the question that he all of a sudden had a burning interest to ask me.

  “So what is it?”

  “I want to ask you about Rex.”

  My heart stopped for a minute and I didn’t know what to say. There was a million answers running through my head simultaneously, but I had the good sense not to try and pick it apart. I knew that there was a reason he was asking about him, but that didn’t mean that I should give anything away for free. He may not really know anything.

  “What about him?”

  “Come on Sherry. You aren’t the only one that has bullshit radar. Something is going on with the two of you, isn’t there?”

  “What? No? Charlie, why would you ask that?”

  He didn’t seem sure of my answer, but his shoulders slumped a little bit in relief. “I don’t know. I just got this crazy idea in my head and I guess I just went with it. I know that you two would never do that, but it was just on my mind and I figured I would ask before I let it drive me crazy. I mean the thought of my little sister and my best friend getting it on is just more than I ever want to think about again.”

  He was babbling now and I could tell that a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. If I didn’t know before how he felt about all of it, I sure did now.

  “Don’t worry about that Charlie. There is nothing going on between us.”

  Chapter 25

  Rex

  Charlie told me that he was picking up his sister and bringing her up to the city so she could move in. I wanted to go, but the way he was acting told me that it wasn’t a good idea. He needed to ask her some questions he said and I had an idea that I didn’t want to be there for that. I wanted to see Sherry, badly, but not bad enough for our secret to somehow get out. I didn’t think I could be around her and not look at her as if I wanted to eat her whole. I know that I often felt that way when she was around and I didn’t need the test.

  I was home when Charlie got there from his trip and he was I his head. I could tell he had something on his mind, but again I wasn’t brave enough to ask what.

  “Still alone huh?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I don’t know. It has just been a while since I have seen you with a girl. Are you saving yourself for someone important?”

  “No. What’s up man?”

  “Not much Charlie. I just got back in from doing the shoot for the advertising billboard that we were talking about the other day. It looks good and I think the finished product is going to be even better.”

  “Who did you use?”

  “Star and Angel. They are the most photogenic.”

  “What about Ruby? She is looking fine as hell lately and that red hair really makes her stand out. Isn’t that what you were looking for?”

  “It was, but I let her go. She wasn’t doing well with the club and the rest of the girls, so I figured it was best if we just let her go.”

  He smacked his forehead with his palm. “I just told you that we didn’t want her to get the idea of suing us, so you refused her and then you fired her? Are you serious right now?”

  “It’s not like that. She wasn’t even that mad. I got her a gig at another club and she is going to do fine. It doesn’t have to be the doom and gloom in your head you know. It can be a good thing and I am going to make sure that it is a good thing. She was a problem starter.”

  “So that is why you got rid of her?”

  “It wasn’t just that, but yeah mainly.”

  “Because she talked to me about you?”

  I gritted my teeth and I could tell that my temper was about to come out. I had seen it many times before but I don’t remember the last time it was directed at Charlie. Why the hell was I so mad? Was it because I knew that it was all Ruby’s fault for making this tension between us? I didn’t like it and the last thing that I needed was for him to start in on me again. I wanted this over.

  “I can’t have people working for me that are going to divulge information to others so easily.”

  “She works for me too, so it is not like she was telling our trade secrets to some outsider. She was mad because she cared about you and you kicked her to the curb.”

  “Yeah, but I hired
her and I was the one that gave her a chance when she first started. She blew it opening her mouth and now she can work somewhere else. It is best for all involved.”

  My tone was vehement and even I could tell that there was something more going on here. Why had I gotten rid of her like that? Even with my explanation out in the open, it felt like there was something missing in my very own reasoning.

  “What if she sues us?”

  “She isn’t going to. Okay. Just don’t worry about it. I handled it.”

  I wanted to drop it and I didn’t have anything more to say about it. I had made it clear what a boneheaded move it was, but I don’t think that it was going to make it any better.

  “Good because when it comes back to bite us in the ass, you are going to be the one who is handling it as well. I am not getting into this with you and I know that you will take care of it.”

  “Look, things are getting weird lately Charlie. Let’s just take the night off and go out. Let the club run itself. We pay enough people to do it for us, don’t you think?”

  “I do and you know what, that sounds like a good idea. I just dropped Sherry off and the last thing I want to do is go back to the club tonight after that.”

  “She got to you huh?”

  “Did she say something to you?”

  “Likened me to a pimp when I took her home a week ago.”

  Charlie chuckled. “Yeah that sounds like her.”

  “How does she like her new place?”

  “Good I guess. I didn’t stay too long. She asked about you though.”

  “Did she?”

  I tried to temper the look on my face. I knew that it was filled with want and hope because I was hoping that I was going to hear from her soon. “Yeah.”

  I waited for more, but he said nothing else. I was just left there to guess what it was that she had asked about me. It became clear that Charlie wasn’t going to tell me.

  Chapter 26